Law and regulation

Costly regulations associated with being a bank holding company appear to have forced another insurance company to give up its bank charter.

A Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday upheld the controversial practice of including mandatory arbitration clauses in credit card contracts.

Making banks show the rigor of their analysis through what-if exercises is all well and good. But investors would be better served if auditors had to tell more about the risks their clients are taking.

All of China’s bank-led payment platforms and third-party payment providers would have to ensure their customers use their real names when paying online under regulations the People’s Bank of China proposed Jan. 5.

Dutch financial services company ING Group said Friday that it may have to sell more assets to repay state aid, as it grapples to meet stricter banking rules and protect itself against choppy markets.

Bank of America has told regulators that it is willing to retreat from some parts of the country if its financial problems deepen, according to people familiar with the situation.

Private equity's impact on job creation has come to forefront over the last week of the Republican presidential candidate primaries, as critics took aim at Mitt Romney's Bain Capital career.

Tom Grady, tapped last year as Florida's banking commissioner, want to cuts regulatory costs to help state's survivors recover.

New Jersey has a long and rich history of nurturing inventions and inventors. The works of Edison, Einstein and Roebling continue to improve our lives.

Big banks may not be very happy about the newly-empowered Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but they're hoping to leave the unpleasant task of challenging the new agency to their nonbank competitors.

As European banks continue to establish standards for a Single Euro Payments Area, not nearly as much attention has focused on a similar process for ecommerce or mobile payments in the euro zone.

Bank lobbyists tend to dismiss the importance of the consumer agency as a voting issue in the presidential campaign. Here's why they shouldn't.

Richard Cordray told a group of reporters Thursday that businesses should support the bureau's mission, and said he plans to work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to ensure the agency is mindful of industry concerns as well.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department issued a critical legal opinion Thursday asserting that President Obama is allowed to make recess appointments despite pro-forma Senate sessions in which no business is conducted, effectively validating the appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against suburban Chicago-based collection agency PN Financial, alleging the company has used abusive and threatening tactics against consumers.

Consumer litigation filed against collection agencies and creditors in 2011 set several records - including cases citing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA).

A Treasury Department report released this week showed that nearly 80% of participants in the Small Business Lending Fund have increased small business lending over average lending levels reported prior to the program's passage.

A group of 28 House Democrats wrote to President Obama urging him to address the nation's housing woes by installing a new leader at FHFA.

Top financial regulators — including the FDIC's Martin Gruenberg, the OCC's John Walsh and the Fed's Daniel Tarullo — will testify on Capitol Hill next week about their proposal to implement the Volcker Rule.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to shutter 131 farm lending offices in 32 states as part of a broad mandate from the Obama administration to trim $150 million from its annual budget.